


3 months later

by THEWRITERNEXTDOORRETURNS



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-22 10:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30037419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/THEWRITERNEXTDOORRETURNS/pseuds/THEWRITERNEXTDOORRETURNS
Summary: My take on what happened in the 3 months between Hopper’s death and the Byers moving.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The morning after everything that happened, El woke up very early. Everything came crashing down. The Mind Flayer trying to kill her, Billy's sacrifice, realising that Hop was gone... it brought El to tears. She was crying uncontrollably. Then she heard a knock and Mike's voice saying "El? Can I come in?"

El opened the door. She really needed Mike right now. He pulled her in for a warm hug. El kept sobbing into his shoulder while he kept giving her kisses and promising her that everything would be ok. After a few more minutes of this, El took a deep breath and let go of Mike and began to wipe her tears. Mike squeezed her hand and brought her back to the bed.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Mike asked gently.

El slowly nodded her head before admitting it. "Once I woke up, I could just remember everything that happened last night. Especially realising that Hop was gone"

El couldn't keep going. She had to stop before she started to cry again. Cry over the horror that was the truth. Hop was gone and he was never coming back. He was never going to give her a new word for the day. He was never gonna surprise her with triple decker eggo extravaganzas. He was never gonna say his annoying rule about keeping the door open 3 inches.

El took another deep breath. She tried not to think about Hop at the moment, because it was too painful. Mike had put his arm around her to comfort her. "It's gonna be ok El. I can't imagine what you could be going through right now but things will get better"

El looked him in the eye. "Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise. I am never gonna lie to you again El"

El looked into his eyes and knew he was telling the truth. The pain inside her had started to shrink ever so slightly.

Max slept in Billy's room that night. Well, it was more that she laid awake and cried in his room. How could be Billy be gone? How could the Mind Flayer how chosen him? How could so much have happened this week? How could Neil have said the horrible things he did last night?

"He probably asked for it. He probably caused that fire. He was probably having fun with a girl at that mall and dropped his lighter"

Max had to run to Billy's room after hearing that. She could not look at him. So she climbed onto Billy's bed and cried the whole night away.

There was a time when Max hated Billy. But after she stood up to him in the Byers home, things were different. He respected her and was nice. He even said he'd tolerate Lucas, but if Lucas hurt her at all, this time he really was dead.

Max rolled her eyes on the outside, but on the inside, she was really touched.

The next morning when she got up, she was about to open the door when she heard her Mom and Neil arguing.

"How could you say that stuff about your own son at all? Let alone in front of Max?"

"Susan don't pretend it's not true. Billy was a little shit. We're much better off without him ok? Max has a much more positive influence in me"

Max was about to march out and scream at him, when her mother beat her to the job.

"In you? IN YOU? YOU ARE A CHILD ABUSER! YOU ARE A BULLY AND A COWARD! BILLY WAS NEVER THE PROBLEM. IT WAS ALWAYS YOU! I DUNNO WHAT I SAW IN YOU NEIL HARGROVE, BUT YOU ARE TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW AND NEVER COME BACK"

Neil was about to yell back, but then there was a thud and a loud "OW". Susan kept screaming "GET OUT" until she stopped. Then she heard the front door slam shut.

Did this mean what Max thought it meant? Max opened the door to see her mother two feet away from her. For once, it was just the two of them. Susan looked at her daughter and said "Honey I'm so sorry" and started to cry.

Max was looking at her mother in a whole new light. She ran straight into her arms and began to cry again. This was what she wanted for so long. For her mother to get rid of that mouth breather. Susan had never been the brave kind, but now she was being brave for her daughter.

Max resented her mother for taking him away from California, because she missed her father, but there wasn't a lot to miss. He had been a good father when he was there but many times he wasn't there. Deep down, Max knew she was angry because she just didn't want to leave the good parts of her old life behind, namely her friends.

"I love you honey" Susan said.

Max felt her heart warm for the first time since last night.

"I love you too Mommy"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas did not sleep well that night. He had tried but all he could see was Max's tears over Billy's body or El's tears when she heard about Hopper. He tried to comfort them both, especially Max, but nothing he said could stop the crying. He was also crying a little himself. He had almost lost everything that night. His friends, girlfriend, not to mention this tiny annoying person that had slept in his bed.

Erica had somehow got caught up in this little adventure and had almost died many times and begged to sleep in her brother's room as she was afraid to be alone. Lucas was shocked to hear that, because he found his sister annoying and knew she found him annoying too. Clearly this death defying adventure had shaken her. Lucas, while surprised, let her stay once he saw she was on the verge of tears.

She fell sleep quickly enough but had held his hand the whole night. Lucas felt a little bit uncertain of what to do but pleased that he could be there for his sister. He heard Erica wake up a couple of times. She had probably had a couple of nightmares. He certainly had plenty ever since the Demogorgon. He asked both times if she was ok. They were still hand holding. She simply nodded and went back to sleep.

Lucas woke up early the next morning and saw his sister was still asleep. He knew it was best to leave her be. He got dressed and looked out the window. It was a beautiful summer day. It felt impossible that there could be good weather at all the last couple of years. Everyone else living on this street had no idea how unbeautiful this last week had been.

He turned around and looked at his comics. The things he used to love reading, but hasn't for months. It seemed all of them had lost interest in what they used to always like doing.

Well, all except for one.

Will was clearly missing all of their old fun stuff. Lucas didn't realise that until the other day when Mike ended the D&D campaign. Lucas was glad because he wanted to call Max and he had lost interest in playing D&D. But he had small warm feelings that reminded him of all the fun they used to have playing it. Not to mention the campaign was really cool.

All of that makes Lucas wants to play again.

He hears Erica waking up and he goes over to her.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" he asks her.

Erica shrugs but doesn't look at him. "Fine"

Lucas sits beside her on the bed. "Listen if you ever get scared you can come and sleep in here with me anytime"

Erica tried to scoff but Lucas saw a small smile come onto his sister's lips. "Thanks. Hey could you tell me more about El?"

Lucas was surprised that she would ask that, as El has superpowers and that would be deemed nerdy.

"Why?"

"Well Dustin actually told me a lot about her and the Demogorgon and everything but I'd like to hear more! If there is anymore to tell"

Lucas smiled. He doesn't know what Dustin has particularly told her but decides he will. "Ok. It all started when Will went missing"

"He got lost in the woods right?" Erica asked.

"Not quite"

Lucas asked what she knew. It turned out Dustin only mentioned that they met El and that Will was taken by the Demogorgon to the upside down and about the gate and that the mind flayer had taken over Will and the demodogs were gonna take over Hawkins and that most of the party had tried to lure them away so El wouldn't have to face them when El closed the gate.

Lucas told her last night all about the mind flayer but decided to inform her of everything from when he first met El. Will being taken to the upside down, himself, Mike and Dustin looking for him and finding El. Lucas not trusting El cause back then she had no hair and said very little. How bad people from Hawkins Lab were after her and wanted to kill her. How she used the D&D board to explain that Will was hiding from some sort of monster which they all called the Demogorgon because that was the action figure El used to describe it.

He mentioned that they went out to look for Will again but that El brought them to his house. El wasn't good with words so she couldn't explain the proper words, but that Lucas thought she was just crazy and leading them around to earn a place to stay. Then they found a body they thought was Will's. El used Mike's supercom to show that Will was alive. They brought El to school to get the heathkit to El for a stronger signal. She found Will! He said he was somewhere dark and empty and cold and called for his mom and that something was coming.

El was finally able to start explaining(with some help from Mike) that Will was in a place called the upside down. They asked Mr. Clarke about it at the funeral and he explained about the gate. El said she didn't know where it was, but Dustin used compasses to figure out how to get there. El used her powers on the compasses to change them. That made Lucas lose all trust in her and he got in a fight with Mike and El threw him into a wall. He got angry and went to find Will and the gate on his own.

He soon realised he was wrong about El when he found Hawkins lab. He knew the gate was in there. He told them that those bad men were coming for them and they met up and apologised to each other. Lucas told them everything he knew and they hid until Hopper found them and brought them to Nancy, Joyce and Jonathan. They told them everything they knew and they made a sensory deprivation tank so El could find Will and Nancy's friend Barbara with her powers. Barbara had unfortunately been killed, but Will was alive. Joyce and Hopper went to get him while Jonathan and Nancy took off to kill the monster. Somehow the bad men found them and tried to take El. El melted their eyeballs though until the head of the bad men came. He tried to take El, who called for Mike.

The demogorgon then came and tried to kill everyone. Luckily, El used her powers to kill it, but was unfortunately and unknowingly taken to the upside down. Everyone thought she was dead. She left though and was taken in by Hopper.

Lucas gave a shorter explanation about the Mind Flayer taking over Will and making him say and do stuff and how himself, Max, Dustin and Steve had tried to lure one away that Dustin found and named Dart, short for D'artagnan. They soon realised there was an army! Everyone met up and swapped stories and Mike mentioned that Joyce's boyfriend had been killed by the Demodogs. They thought they could make Will explain how to stop the Mind Flayer, but it didn't work, or so they thought. He used morse code to tell them "CLOSEGATE" and then El returned! She and Hopper went to close the gate, , and Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy used heat to get the monster out of Will, as the monster liked it cold, while Billy came to bring Max home and attack Lucas.

Steve saved him and then Max saved Steve. She drove his car to where the demodogs came from, to light a fire to get their attention so El could have a clear path to the gate. El closed it but the Mind Flayer survived and a week ago took over Billy. It turned out more people were being controlled this time. Hopper and Joyce closed the gate but Hopper and Billy were killed. He didn't have much to say about this week as Erica was there for part of it.

When he was finished, Erica's mouth was hanging open.

"You could have died a bunch of times and I had no idea?"

Lucas couldn't think of anything to say accept "Uh.. yeah"

Much to Lucas's surprise, Erica hugged him tightly, and Lucas thought he heard her crying, so he rubbed her back.

They stayed like that for ages. When their Mom knocked for breakfast, they said they weren't hungry. A while later, there was a knock on the door and it was opened by Max. Lucas forgot he invited her over to talk about Billy (and possibly getting back together). Max looked surprised to see Erica as they broke apart.

"Are you guys alright?" she asked them.

"Yeah" they both said. Erica got up to leave, but turned to Lucas and said "I love you"

Lucas smiled. They had never said those words to each other. "I love you too"

"Hey you know I'm here for you right?"

Max had explained everything about her Mom kicking her out and how she was feeling after Billy's death. Lucas held her hand the whole way through and hugged and kissed her while she cried. She hadn't said they were back together but it felt like the right thing to do.

Max gave him a small watery smile and kissed him on the lips and he kissed back. He just knew now that they definitely were back together. Which was something he was very glad about.

"Thanks stalker!"


	3. Chapter 3

Joyce had thought long and hard about what to do. She had to help El somehow. She wasn't sure if this house would be enough to make her happy, but she hoped that she would like it. She decided the best thing to do first, is talk to her boys. She didn't think they'd be against it because they were both such kind people. But there was no way she would let El move in without talking to them first. After all, it is their home too. So Joyce puts down her cup of coffee and gets up and sees Jonathan coming into the kitchen.

"Hey honey! I need to ask you something"

Jonathan looked curious. "Yeah?"

" How would you feel about El coming to live with us?" Joyce asked him, slightly worried.

Jonathan had a surprised look on his face but looked like he was giving it some thought. It didn't take him long to answer.

"It's fine with me Mom. I don't really know El but I'm ok with it. She definitely needs people to look after her"

Joyce felt relieved and gave her oldest son a smile. "Thank you! I'll be right back. I just wanna ask Will and then see if El wants to stay"S

Joyce goes to knock on Will's door. He says "Come in" and Joyce opens the door and sees him reading an X-men comic.

"Hey honey! Could I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Will looked a bit confused but nodded. Joyce sat at the end of his bed and asked the question. "Honey how would you feel about El coming to live with us?"

Will didn't answer straight away either. But when he did he sounded genuine. "Yeah that's ok. El's a good friend"

"Are you sure? This will be a big change"

Will nodded. "Yeah. I already know El. Besides if she lives with us then I can get to know her better. I haven't really had a chance"

Joyce was happy to hear him want to get to know El. Now there was just the matter of asking El what she wanted.

"Thank you honey! I'm gonna go and ask her myself now"

As Joyce left Will's room, she saw Mike coming back from the bathroom.

"Hey Mike, could I talk to El alone for a few minutes?"

Mike looked surpised but nodded. "Yeah no problem. I'll go talk to Will. Is he awake?"

Joyce nodded. "Yeah he's in his room. Go ahead"

As they parted ways, Joyce went to El's room and knocked. "Yes?"

"Can I come in sweetie?"

"Yes" El said. Joyce came in and saw that she had been crying. Joyce sat beside her on the bed.

"Honey how would you feel about coming to live with us?"

El also looked deep in thought before answering. "What about Will and Jonathan?"

"I already spoke to them about it. They both said they're fine with it. But how would you feel about it?"

El took a bit of time to answer. But she gave a small smile before she did. "I would like that?"

...

Will couldn't sleep that night. That wasn't unusual. Ever since the upside down, there had been a lot of nights where he didn't sleep as well as he could. So just like all the other sleepless nights, he got out of bed, grabbed a comic book, left his bedroom and went to the kitchen and turned on the light, went to get a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table and read his comic book.

His comic was an X-men one. He had always liked the X-men. They were different to everyone else. So was he.

"Will?"

He jumped and turned around and saw that it was only El.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" she said, looking at the ground.

"Don't worry about it. It's cool. You couldn't sleep either?" he asked her.

El shook her head.

"You wanna sit with me?"

El gave a surprised smile and nodded and sat across from him.

"What are you reading?" she asked him.

"X-men. You wanna read with me?"

"Actually I wanted to talk to you if that was ok?"

Wil nodded, surprised to hear this. El looked a bit nervous.

"Are you ok with this?"

"With what?" he asked.

"With me staying here? In your home?"

Will was surprised she would ask that. "What? Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

Instead of answering that question, El asked another of her own.

"Do you hate me?"

That caught Will off guard big time. "What? Why would you think I hate you?"

El looked as if she was uncertain how to say what she wanted to say. "This summer, I felt as if you were looking a little annoyed with me. I couldn't understand what I had done wrong"

Will didn't think that El knew he was feeling a bit weird Had he been that obvious?

"I don't hate you El. I can explain. After everything that happened with the upside down and the mind flayer, I wanted to try and get back to normal. I wanted to be playing D&D or hanging out at the arcade, but you guys were always busy. You and Mike and Max and Lucas started your relationships and Dustin was at Science camp. Then he came back and he had a girlfriend as well. You and Mike especially spent a lot of time together. You also weren't allowed to leave your cabin for when we hang out at our crowded places so I couldn't really see Mike or get to know you and it seemed you had all moved on from the mind flayer trouble. You guys were growing up and I had missed out on that and I guess I was feeling lonely"

Will suddenly felt a lot better by admitting all this stuff out loud. It was like a great weight was taken off his shoulders. El looked surprised by how much he had admitted.

"I didn't mean to make you feel lonely. I would never try to hurt your or anyone's feelings. I'm sorry"

Will smiled. "I'm sorry too"

El's brows furrowed. "For what?"

"For always keeping this stuff bottled up. It didn't help and it just made me lash out at Mike and Lucas after you guys broke up. I screamed and I.. I.. I accidentally called you a stupid girl"

El looked pretty hurt by that. "But I didn't mean it" Will said quickly. "I just meant that I thought it was stupid for 2 people to spend all of their time kissing. But I should know better than that. I should know as well as anyone just cause someone is doing something one person doesn't like, that doesn't make it stupid. I'm really sorry for calling you a stupid girl El"

El gave Will a bright smile, which Will took to be a good sign. "Will, If you're upset with me, you have to tell me, so I can make you feel better. That's what friends do"

Will didn't expect that, but he felt happy to hear that! "Thanks. I will. Oh and you too! If you're upset, just tell me"

El kept smiling that bright smile and held out her hand. "Friends again?"

Will looked at her hand and shook it. "Nah. Siblings"


End file.
